News

Health Journalists in Nigeria Take On the Sensitive Topic of Epilepsy

Health journalists at the office of This Day newspaper in Lagos have never published a health section before. But they have now, under the guiding eye of Knight International Journalism Fellow Declan Okpalaeke. In the first edition: a gripping story about epilepsy that pits a medical diagnosis against faith-based treatment options.

ICFJ's Jerri Eddings: New Technology Brings New Opportunities for African Journalists

At the 14th annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference, held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., ICFJ Program Director Jerri Eddings said that many governments in Africa have eased restrictions on journalists. Now, she said, journalists are learning to access new kinds of information and deliver it to an increasingly tech-savvy audience across the continent.

The Newseum's First Amendment Center reported on the event.

Story on Alcoholism Leads to Liquor Co. Campaign Against Underage Drinking in Mozambique

Alcoholism and binge drinking are serious problems here in Mozambique. Among the vile, cheap and lethal spirits sold – those with high alcohol content and low price, guaranteed to hit you like a punch from Rumble in the Jungle - the most popular is Tentacão (which means temptation, in Portuguese), less than US$1 for half a pint. Other brands are Lord Gin, Double Punch, Boss, Rhino and Paradise. The cheapest, Lord Gin, with 43% alcohol, costs US$1 for half a liter.

Though underage drinking is technically illegal here, no one seems to check.

Haitian Journalists Show How Temporary Solutions Create Permanent Problems for Refugees

As hundreds of non-governmental organizations begin to pull out of Haiti, their departures are causing problems in a nation still struggling to recover from the 2010 earthquake. Several journalists chosen to take part in the Fund for Investigative Journalism took a close look at one of those problems.

Tackling the Challenges of a Thriving, Free Press in Haiti

GlobalPost's GroundTruth blog featured the work of Knight International Journalism Fellow Kathie Klarreich, working in Haiti to build a network of trained investigative journalists. It details the many, many challenges journalists in that country face, not the least of which includes newsrooms that still have not recovered from the devastation of the January 2010.

Mobile News Network "Helps Those in Need" in India

A blog that highlights the work of citizen journalists all over the world recently turned its attention to CGNet Swara in India, describing the mobile news network founded by Knight International Journalism Fellow Shubhranshu Choudhary as "the media for India's tribal people," and the "kind of project which really cares and helps those in need."

NewsMeBack blog detailed the project and included an animated video that uses stick characters to re-enact the mobile network and the impact it has had on rural co

Union of Ushahidi and Swara Means the Ability to Show AND Tell

Arjun Venkatraman is the tech whiz behind much of the voice-based technology of Knight International Journalism Fellow Shubhranshu Choudhary's CGNet Swara, and he was instrumental in launching the same technology in Indonesia for Knight Fellow Harry Surjadi.

Not easily satisfied, though, Venkatraman is looking for new ways to improve and expand the technology. One idea? Find a way for the Swara interface to answer not just Who, What, and When but also Where. Here he details the path to success.

Text-and-Mobile News Network Opens Coverage of Rural Indonesia

In a rural corner of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, indigenous people can now send out the important news in their communities, thanks to a groundbreaking cell phone-based network officially launched this month by Knight International Journalism Fellow Harry Surjadi.

The new service – which opens up a part of the country previously cut off from news coverage – had its public debut at a press conference on February 15 in the provincial capital of Pontianak.

CNN: Phone Journalism Gives a Voice to India's Rural Poor

When Shubhranshu Choudhary began working as a Knight International Journalism Fellow in India in 2009, he realized that even the most remote villages of the Chhattisgarh region where he was based had access to cell phones. Those phones offered an opportunity for him to build a cellular news network that allows the villagers to communicate with each other as well as with activists, government officials and mainstream media.

Knight Fellow Looks at What's Ahead in Health Journalism

Knight International Health Fellow Mercedes Sayagues talked with IJNet recently about the challenges that exist for health journalists all over the world. At the top of the list, she says, are topics that are taboo - difficult to report because editors are often worried about publishing or broadcasting content that might be offensive. But she also sees hope in digital innovations that can make it easier to get important information out quickly.